Investing.com - European stocks closed solidly higher Monday, as positive Chinese data combined with strong U.S. retail sales to push shares to a bullish close on the session.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 0.65%, France’s CAC 40 rallied 0.92%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.40%.
Sentiment improved after official data over the weekend showed that China’s trade surplus widened in September as export demand increased, easing concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
In other bullish news, retail sales in the U.S. rose more-than-expected in September, increasing for the third consecutive month, official data showed on Monday.
In a report, the U.S. Census Bureau said that retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in September, beating expectations for a 0.8% increase.
Retail sales in August were revised up to a 1.2% gain from a previously reported increase of 0.9%.
Rising retail sales over time correlate with stronger economic growth, while weaker sales signal a declining economy.
However, investors remained cautious as Madrid did not request financial aid over the weekend and a request for a bailout is now seen as increasingly unlikely ahead of regional elections on October 21.
Elsewhere in the euro zone, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said Sunday his country was facing the "last hurdle" before recovery and expressed confidence that the government will reach an agreement with international creditors ahead of Thursday’s European Union summit.
Financial stocks remained sharply higher, as shares in French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas rallied 1.71% and 1.92%, extending earlier gains, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank jumped 1.04% and 1.76%.
Peripheral lenders added to gains, with shares in Italian banks Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo climbing 1.16% and 1.03%, while Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander rose 0.34% and 1.39%.
Elsewhere, Finland's Orkla gained 8.66% after agreeing with Norsk Hydro to combine units to provide aluminum profiles, building systems and tubing in North America and Europe.
According to a Bloomberg report, the combined company will have sales of about USD8.2 billion and some 25,000 employees.
Also on the upside, Douglas Holding surged 7.79% after Advent International Corp. made a EUR1.5 billion takeover offer for the retailer.
In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.21%, after data showed that house prices in the U.K. rose 3.5% in October.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as shares in Lloyds Banking jumped 1.08% and HSBC Holdings advanced 1.10%, while Barclays rallied 1.33%. The Royal Bank of Scoland remained lower on the other hand, with shares tumbling 1.81%.
Mining stocks were mixed. Shares in Rio Tinto plunged 1.16% and BHP Billiton added 0.21%, while copper producer Xstrata added 0.48% and rival Kazakhmys plunged 2.52%.
In the U.S., equity markets followed higher in midsession trade with the Dow Jones up 0.73%, the broad based S&P 500 higher by 0.61% and the tech heavy Nasdaq following trading higher by 0.50%.
Tuesday, traders are awaiting, the U.S. CPI and the German ZEW economic sentiment report.